Burlington's downtown in store for changes

Published: Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 02:11 PM.

What would you like to see come to Downtown Burlington?

A retail business, a recreation facility, an entertainment venue?

There are lots of questions circulating about downtown now in the wake of the announcement that LabCorp is going to be moving some 900-plus employees out of that area to other locations here and in Guilford County.

That’s going to leave several buildings vacant, and some of them may be taken down as upkeep costs are too high now. There will still be many LabCorp people downtown in its national headquarters and in several other locations, but moving that many people out will have an impact on present businesses operating there.

So what can be done to bring a new life to that area?

What would you like to see there? Think, as they say, outside the box.

There are lots of questions circulating about downtown now in the wake of the announcement that LabCorp is going to be moving some 900-plus employees out of that area to other locations here and in Guilford County.

That’s going to leave several buildings vacant, and some of them may be taken down as upkeep costs are too high now. There will still be many LabCorp people downtown in its national headquarters and in several other locations, but moving that many people out will have an impact on present businesses operating there.

So what can be done to bring a new life to that area?

What would you like to see there? Think, as they say, outside the box.

Let me start the conversation with an idea.

I think it would be cool to have a really nice restaurant on the top floor of the bank tower. Like I said, think outside the box. Top o’ the Town Restaurant? Great view from up there.

I asked this question to some people recently and did not get too much response. But one did say, “If you want to get a crowd in downtown, build a Walmart.” I can see his point. He was of course being funny … but doesn’t Walmart have small operations in some areas now?

Another mentioned loft living sites, and there is already a project underway on Front Street that I believe will have some loft apartments in addition to downstairs businesses.

Remember that we already have a number of businesses dealing in furniture and antiques, and there are several eating places.

So what would you like to see there?

Wayne Beam, who operates an antique business downtown, came up with a real possibility — a city of Burlington history museum. “Even Haw River has one,” he said. Indeed. Haw River has a nice museum just east of the bridge. And Mebane has one in the old Mebane High School building. Graham has one in the old fire department building on West Elm Street.

There is of course the Alamance County Historical Museum just south of Alamance, and the Textile Heritage Museum is located at Glencoe.

But not one in Burlington.

There is a really nice historical display in the Amtrak depot on Main Street, and there is the unbelievable mural on the interior walls of what was once the waiting room of the historic depot across the tracks from the present depot.

The railroad station display concentrates on Company Shops, while the depot mural shows the history of the city in its most unique way.

A history museum might take away from those two attractions, you might ask?

I think just the opposite would be true. It would enhance interest in them.

When visitors come here, we have nothing to show them to reflect the role of Fairchild Aircraft in our past, or Western Electric. Fairchild built a training plane here in World War II, and Western Electric had a major role in our anti-missile defense system in years that followed. But we know that from newspaper files and books. There is nowhere we can go and see things from those companies.

We had a Civilian Conservation Corps camp here during the Great Depression, and in fact there is a seemingly endless list of things that we could learn about in such a museum.

I certainly think that a museum would serve as an attraction to downtown, and it would give visitors an opportunity to visit the other businesses there.

But are there other things that would be a good fit for Downtown Burlington?

Do you have ideas, suggestions?

Think about it, and when you come up with one, send me an e-mail at DBolden202@aol.com, and maybe we can share it with other readers in a future column.

Remember, think out of the box. My Top o’ the Town restaurant is a bit far out — or up — but who knows — someone just might make that work.

So what are your ideas?

Don Bolden is editor emeritus of the Times-News. His column, now in its 57th year, appears every Sunday. He can be contacted t DBolden202@aol.com.